


Prefect's Badge

by Looceraseitwob



Series: Summer 0f 2021 [5]
Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst, Gen, Harry and ginny are good parents, Parties, Prefect Badge, Same old Percy, The Burrow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 17:26:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11063691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Looceraseitwob/pseuds/Looceraseitwob
Summary: Rose is made Prefect and a party is thrown for her at The Burrow. Everyone is proud of her whilst Albus Potter is sitting in the corner being ignored.





	Prefect's Badge

The Burrow was heaving with people as the party was well under way and Albus Potter sat in the corner of the Living Room in a foul mood.

His Cousin Rose had been given a Prefects Badge and his Grandparents had thrown her a party and the Living Room was host to a large banner with the words: Congratulations Rose, New Prefect.

Aunt Hermione had charmed it so that it flashed red and gold.

His Uncle Ron had spent the night beaming so much, that Albus was sure that his face was going to split in two. Aunt Hermione was showing off Rose's shiny new Prefects Badge to Aunt Fleur and Aunt Audrey.  
Uncle Ron was loudly telling Hugo that it would be his turn soon whilst Uncle Percy, Dominique and Lucy were dispensing some valuable advice to the new Prefect.

James, Fred and Roxanne were laughing at one of Uncle George's jokes whilst Lily was happily chatting to Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie and Louis who was sporting a brand new fanged ear ring.

Gran was rushing about frantically making sure that everyone was fed and watered. She somehow gave his Dad an extra Pork Pie. She was always doing that. His Dad was chatting to Grandad and his Mum was chatting to Aunt Angelina.  
Teddy Lupin and Victoire were snuggled up in the other corner and were exchanging kisses. Albus had to admire Teddy's nerve. Teddy's hair was Weasley red for the occasion.

Everyone was chatting to everyone else and Albus was sitting in the corner alone, feeling left out.  
As if _he_ would want some stupid Prefect Badge anyway. The way Uncle Ron was going on, it was as if Rose had cured lycanthropy. His stomach churned unpleasantly when he saw his Dad tell Rose that he was proud of her. He found himself wishing that Harry said that he was proud of _him_.

All in all, it was turning out to be a rotten, vomit inducing evening. Worse still, the Living Room was getting hot and stuffy as more and more people filed in. Hagrid had to leave early as Mrs. Tonks, former Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Headmistress of Hogwarts Professor McGonagall ,the Longbottom's and the Scamander's arrived and the racket that the Scamander twins were making were giving Albus a throbbing headache.  
Between Lorcan and Lysander's antics, Uncle Ron's booming voice, Uncle Percy's pompous manner, the flashing banner and his Gran rushing about all flustered, Albus was certain that he was going explode in anger.

Feeling that he couldn't take much more of this any longer, he got up and walked past James, Fred and Roxanne who were listening to Uncle George telling the same old story for the umpteenth time, past Teddy and Victoire who were glued to the lips and seemed to be having a tongue wresting match, past Gran and Grandad who were chatting to Mrs. Tonks. Past Uncle Ron who was thanking Professor McGonagall very graciously for making his perfect Daughter a Prefect, past Uncle Percy who was still giving Prefect tips to Rose, past Uncle Bill and Louis who were talking about Gringotts and were wearing matching Dragon hide jackets, past Uncle Charlie, Lily, Dominique, Molly and Lucy who were chatting about Dragons, past his Mum, Aunt Angelina, Aunt Fleur and Luna Scamander who was telling them about her discovery of the Tittering Tickling Toad (whatever that was), Past Aunt Hermione and Kingsley Shacklebolt who were no doubt discussing top secret Ministry stuff that Albus had no interest in, past his Dad who was talking to Professor Longbottom, his wife Hannah and Rolf Scamander, past Hugo who was 'being a dear' and helping Aunt Audrey trying to keep Lorcan and Lysander under control. Past the whole lot of them and _no one_ even noticed him leaving.

He reached the back door and went out into the refreshingly cool yard and he made his way to the garden. There was the smell of pollen in the air and a couple of gnomes spotted him and ran away.

He sank down on the bench (a memorial to his Uncle Fred who died at the Battle of Hogwarts) and put his head in his hands and released a very long sigh. This had got to be the worst party that he had been to. It would have been bearable if he had Scorpius at his side. _Everything_ was bearable with Scorpius. The two of them would probably be cracking jokes in the corner, or most likely Scorpius would be hovering around Rose gushing about how great she was. The mere thought of that made him even more angrier and more bitter than ever before. It was lucky that Scorpius was on holiday with his Father then.

He doubted that anyone would notice him out in the garden. They didn't notice him in the Living Room so he doubted that his absence would be noted upon. They were all too busy orbiting around the greatness of Little Miss Perfect Prefect.  
He didn't need a cloak to be invisible. It seemed as if he were born that way. Albus Invisible Potter: The unwanted spare who everyone ignored.

The early evening air was quite cooling on Albus's face as he watched the sun start to set. It was a relief to get away from the noisy, stuffy Living Room.  
If he was quite honest with himself, he never expected to receive a Prefect's Badge himself. He never did that well in School and he was sure that he would've been a rubbish Prefect. No, what _did_ bother him was that it was another reminder of how perfect Rose was compared to himself. She spent the evening basking in all the glory from all their proud Aunts, Uncles and Cousins whilst Albus sat hunched in the corner completely ignored, his insides burning with jealousy.

His stomach rumbled. He had spent the evening in such a foul mood that he didn't bother getting anything to eat. His Gran was rushing about making sure that everyone had something to eat but she kept getting distracted by all the guests arriving so she never got to Albus.

Albus heard the back door open and someone make their way across the yard. He didn't bother looking around. It was probably Grandad sneaking off to his shed whilst Gran was busy rushing around. He doubted they would notice him.  
He sank lower in his seat when they spoke.

"Albus, are you alright out here?" It was his Dad. Albus turned round and saw that Harry was looking rather hot and quite tired.

"Oh. Hi Dad," Albus said in a small voice. "Don't mind me." Harry sat down next to him with a groan.

"It's quite hot in there, isn't it?" Harry said, taking off his glasses and wiping them. "I've only just gotten away from Neville, Hannah and Rolf. Are you alright? I've been trying to sit with you this evening but everyone kept wanting to catch up. "

"I'm fine," Albus lied, instantly regretting it. He can't keep bottling these things up. His Mum told him that he should be more honest with his Dad. He didn't want to let her down. He didn't want to let his Dad down. He kept his eyes focused on a pair of Gnomes that were trying to get through a hole in the fence and was trying to work up the courage to tell his Dad what was on his mind. He saw in the corner of his eye, Harry shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"I saw you sitting all on your own this evening," Harry said tentatively. "You didn't look very happy to be honest."

Albus bit back the retort that he so desperately wanted to shout out. He had had a really good summer so far. He wasn't going to let Little Miss Perfect and her Prefect Badge wipe out the progress he made in repairing his relationship with his Dad.

"Everyone was crowding around Rose and it was really noisy," Albus said choosing his words carefully. "And the red and gold was driving me crazy. It's funny. All that fuss over a Prefect's Badge." He was certain that the last bit came out bitter and his Dad's reaction confirmed it.

"Is that's what has been bothering you tonight?" Harry asked slowly with a understanding look in his eyes. "Rose's Prefect Badge?"

"Well yeah. No. _Sort of_ ," Albus mentally kicked himself. Why couldn't he just articulate what was bothering him for once?

"It's just…" He paused trying to find the right words. He was very glad that Harry didn't interrupt him. "Everyone's going on about how perfect Rose is and how proud they are of her, and compared to her, I feel _so_ useless, Dad. I mean people always expect _so_ much of me and I keep letting them down."

He stared bitterly at the ground, anger coursing through his veins. He felt his Dad place a hand on his shoulder and fought the urge to shake it off. No: He wasn't going to go back to the way things were.

"Albus, please just for once, listen to me." Harry's voice was calm, but Albus heard the note of desperation in it. "You've got _nothing_ to prove to no one. It's just a badge, Albus. It's just a stupid badge with the letter P on it. It doesn't make you any more, or any less of a person."

"It's just, the way Uncle Ron was going on about it tonight, it was like Rose was elected the Minister for Magic." Albus said incredulously.

"I know what you mean," Harry nodded. "Don't tell anyone else, but your Mum and I both agreed that it was overkill. But I went through this when I was your age. I wasn't a Prefect and it certainly doesn't matter to me if you, James and Lily aren't Prefects either. Your Mum and I just want you lot to be happy."

Albus's head jerked up. "Really?" He asked, flabbergasted. "Harry Potter not a Prefect? I thought all the Teachers _loved_ you!"

"That's not strictly true," Harry grumbled, taking his hand off Albus's shoulder. "One or two took a dislike towards me. But yeah, I wasn't chosen as a Prefect. Your Uncle Ron beat me to it. I caused too much trouble."

Despite himself, Albus found himself grinning. It felt like very hard work. All the muscles in his mouth felt very stiff, but he was doing it and he was grinning at his Dad.

"Like flying a Car to Hogwarts?" He smirked, echoing the almost mythical tale that he had heard since he was very small.

"That was one of many things," Harry sighed. "I didn't have much of a choice."

"I know. You didn't volunteer for adventure. You were forced into all of that," Albus said, echoing his Dads words from last year. "But you'd think that you'd be given the Badge as a sign of confidence in you. I mean, that's what _I'd_ have done."

Harry smiled at his son, clearly touched by his words.

"Dumbledore thought that I had too much on my plate," He said. "And he was right. Fifth Year's an important year."

"I know," Albus sighed. "OWL Year. Great. Another thing for me to fail at."

Harry was quiet for a moment as Albus sat brooding.

"There's something else that's bothering you. Isn't there, Albus?" Harry said slowly.

Albus paused. He had come this far without anything going wrong and he had spent the summer opening up to his Dad, so he supposed that this would be his first real test to see how far he had really come.

"Yeah," He said shortly. "There is. I saw you congratulating Rose and I heard you tell her that you were proud of her and…"

He broke off as tears welled up in his eyes. It was stupid, really. He shouldn't let this affect him. He heard his Dad scoot closer to him and felt his arm wrap around Albus's shoulders.

"You wished I told you that I proud was of you?" Harry finished for him sadly. Albus nodded, willing the tears in his eyes to not spill down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Albus," Harry said solemnly. "I've been such a terrible Dad to you."

"It's not your fault," Albus said in a thick voice. "I've never given much reason for you to be proud of me."

"I was talking to Professor McGonagall this evening," Harry said slowly. "And she was saying that she was very impressed by the effort that you put into your Fourth Year Exams. Neville, in particular was telling me that you do really well in his Herbology lessons and it shows in your marks. They were really good this year, Albus. Seeing you put all that effort into your exams and for you to produce such good marks this year, and I know that it's too little, too late, but I'm very proud of you , Albus."

Albus looked up at Harry, hardly daring to believe his ears. It sounded too good to be true.

"Really?" He asked disbelievingly. "You're proud of me?"

"Very," Harry stated firmly. "It's great seeing you do so well after what happened last year. You deserve it, Albus. You worked so hard and it shows. Your Mum and I could've thrown you a party like Ron and Hermione did for Rose, but we know that you don't like the attention much. I am very proud of you, Albus. With how you saved us all last year and with how well you did in your exams. You're Potions result in particular-"

"I like Potions," Albus said suddenly. "It's my best subject."

"That's good hear." Harry nodded.

"I find it takes my mind off things," Albus continued. "So does Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Harry's head snapped up. "You like Defense Against The Dark Arts?" He asked eagerly.

"I'm getting pretty good at it," Albus said. "Must've been all the practice I had last year." He added, grinning at his Dad again.

"You'll be teaching it in no time," Harry snorted. Albus laughed.

They sat there for a while chatting about School. It was a funny feeling for Albus, who in the past, could hardly talk to his Dad about anything. Yet here they were, chatting like he does with Scorpius. He was surprised at how easy it was. His Dad had opened up a lot to him over the summer. The sun was starting to sink even deeper, turning blood red. They continued chatting and that was how his Mum found them.

"There you are," Ginny said as she joined them on the bench. "I've been looking for two. What are you doing out here?"

"Just chatting." Albus mumbled.

"You finally got away?" Harry asked.

"Barely," Ginny sighed. "Luna, Angelina and Fleur certainty know how to talk."

" _Barely_?" Harry asked with mock incredulity. "I got away from Neville, Hannah and Rolf _ages_ ago! You lot could talk the legs off a Hippogriff."

"I'll throw something at you in a minute." Ginny grumbled.

Albus let out a snort of laughter and Ginny turned to him.

"Are you alright, Albus?" She asked softly.

"Yeah," Albus said truthfully.

"Too noisy in the Burrow, isn't it? You came here for some fresh air?"

"Something like that." Albus muttered.

"We were just talking about your Exam results, weren't we?" Harry said.

"Yeah," Albus said, his cheeks turning red.

"We're very proud of you," Ginny said firmly. "You did really well. Neville was telling us how hard you work in Herbology."

"Thanks," Albus smiled at her.

"I saw you sitting on your own earlier," Ginny continued. "I would've sat with you but your Aunt Angelina wanted to catch up. You _were_ alright, were you? You were looking rather miserable."

"I was just sick of everyone going on about how perfect Rose is all because of a Prefect's Badge." Albus admitted bitterly.

Ginny scooted over to Albus and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Is that what's bothering you?" She asked softly. "Albus, you know it doesn't matter to me or your Dad whether or not you're a prefect or not. We're proud of you regardless."

"We are." Harry agreed firmly. Albus and Ginny both smiled at him.

"You know I was never a Prefect myself," Ginny said, stroking Albus's hair, trying to make it lie flat. "Neither were Fred and George. Your Uncle Fred used to say that it took out the fun in life."

Ginny grinned at Albus as he burst out laughing. He had felt so much better knowing that neither of his Parents were Prefects.

"Are you feeling better now?" Ginny asked him.

"Yeah, loads." Albus said before his stomach rumbled.

"Have you eaten at all this evening?" Ginny asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing.

"Not really," Albus said sheepishly. Ginny jumped straight to her feet.

"Stay here," She said. "I'm just going to get you some food."

As she hurried off back inside, Harry dug inside his pockets and took out a Pork Pie.

"Here," He said handing it to Albus. "Your Gran gave this to me. She keeps doing that."

"Thanks," Albus smiled as he took it.

It was a relief to eat something again after spending the night sat in the corner in a bad mood. Ginny came back levitating a plate of food for Albus. She set it down between Albus and Harry.

"Here you go," She said. "I made sure that Uncle Ron didn't scoff all the food."

"Thanks," Albus grinned and began to tuck into some salad.

"Still hectic in there?" Harry asked.

"Lorcan and Lysander won't leave James alone." Ginny sighed. "Locan's hanging off James's neck and Lysander's on one of his ankles. Everyone thinks it's funny."

"That'll tire James out," Harry muttered. Albus issued a small snort.

"Percy's _still_ giving Rose advice," Ginny continued. "I'm going to have get Audrey to drag him away from her."

"That'll be a sight to see," Harry snorted. "Is Lily alright?" He asked.

"She won't leave Charlie alone," Ginny said. "She's not hanging off him but she wants to know what how all the Dragons are doing."

"That'll keep her occupied for _hours_ ," Harry said dryly, whilst nicking a sausage from Albus's plate.

"Luna told me that the Twins want to go to New York." Ginny said. "They were saying that they wanted to set a Niffler lose there like their Great Grandfather did. Apparently Rolf was thinking about it."

"I'll have a chat with Rolf." Harry muttered.

They sat in a comfortable silence as Albus finished his food. After spending the evening not eating, it was a great relief for Albus and it was a nice feeling being able to sit with his parents without James or Lily barging in.

"Well, I'm going to organise a little Quidditch game," Ginny said after a while. "Get everyone out of the Burrow for a bit and up in the air. Are you coming?" She asked Harry.

"Nah," Harry sighed. "I'm too tired for Quidditch."

"Oh I see," Ginny ginned slyly. "You're getting old."

"Says the _retired_ Chaser." Harry shot back.

"You know, Rita Skeeter was asking me the other day if it's true if you're dying your hair," Ginny smirked. "She seems to think you're going grey."

"Nonsense," Harry scoffed. "She's always saying that."

"Mind you," Ginny winked. "I think I see a couple of strands of grey starting to poke through. How about you, Albus?"

"Oh yeah," Albus grinned. "More than a couple. You're definitely going grey, Dad."

Harry and Ginny both laughed and Albus felt surprised at his own daring: That was something that James was more likely to say.

"Right," Ginny said briskly as she walked back to The Burrow with Albus's empty plate. "Quidditch."

"Do you want a Butterbeer?" Harry asked after Ginny went inside.

"I'd love one." Albus replied. Harry flicked his wand and two bottles of Butterbeer came zooming out from The Burrow. They drank in silence for a moment until Albus spoke.

"Dad? Earlier you said that you went through what I was going through when you didn't get picked as a Prefect."

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "I think, deep down that I expected the Badge and when Ron got it instead of me, I might've been jealous. I wasn't in a good mood when they had a party thrown for them but when Sirius said that my Dad wasn't Prefect that made me feel a lot better."

Albus nodded, amazed and relieved at how easy things had become with his Dad. They sat silently drinking their Butterbeer until the backdoor opened and Rose came out looking very tired.

"Hi Albus," She said cheerfully. "Hi Uncle Harry."

"Hi Rose," Albus said a little stiffly.

"Been enjoying the party?" Harry asked.

"Uncle Percy was following me around all evening giving me all sorts of advice," Rose sighed.

"You poor thing," Harry said dryly. Albus snorted but Rose smiled.

"You should tell jokes more often, Uncle Harry." She said. "That was a lot funnier than any of my Dad's."

"Don't encourage him." Albus said hastily.

"Thanks but I don't want to upstage your Dad," Harry laughed. "You know how much he loves his jokes. You got away from Uncle Percy, then?"

"Aunt Audrey gave him a Firewhiskey," Rose said, sitting down next to Albus. "Everyone else is getting ready to play Quidditch but I thought I'd sit out here. I've been meaning to sit with you all evening, Albus. But Uncle Percy wouldn't leave me alone and I knew you wouldn't want to spend the evening listening to him."

"Thanks," Albus said. "Err…Congratulations, Rose." He added uncertainly. Rose smiled at him.

"Thank you," She said gracefully. "Everyone's making such a fuss about it. Uncle Percy, Dominique and Molly have given me so much advice I don't think I'll be able to remember it all and that's saying something."

Harry summoned her a Butterbeer and she took it and thanked him. On closer inspection, Albus thought that she looked rather solemn. Her brow was furrowed like it always is when she was nervous and she seemed to be thinking deeply.

"You'll be fine, Rose." Albus said. "Just be yourself."

Rose gave him a radiant smile. "That's the best advice I had all evening," She said, patting his arm.

"No it wasn't," Albus muttered, his face turning red. "It was lousy."

"I thought it was pretty good." Harry chipped in.

"It was," Rose agreed. "Honestly Albus! You should have more faith in yourself. You're not as bad as you make yourself out to be."

She seemed to return to her usual bossy self. Albus gave her a small, embarrassed smile.

"It's a shame that you're not a Prefect though, Albus." Rose said. "It would've done you some good."

"Nah. I've caused too much trouble." Albus muttered. Harry snorted.

The backdoor opened and everyone filed out and made their way to the Orchard. James had Lorcan on his back and was racing Lysander. Lily was still chatting to Uncle Charlie. Uncle George and Fred were talking Beaters tactics whilst Aunt Angelina was giving Roxanne some Chasing tips. Ginny was assigning everybody to positions and for the first time this evening, Albus felt content. Neither of his parents had been Prefects and it seemed that he wasn't as invisible as he thought he was.  
He looked from Harry who seemed to be dozing off, to Rose who was swigging some Butterbeer and then to The Orchard where a number of Broomsticks were rising in the air and he grinned. Perhaps this evening wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
